I live in a country where people have little or no empathy for people with a disability. This is not a sweeping statement; I say this because of the experiences of those closely associated with me. I had heard many such instances before, but it only hit me hard when I heard what happened to Rohan Sharma, someone who works at my father’s office and someone I respect a lot.
During my summer break, I was interning at my father’s office with the accessibility team. I was testing a website in German using a special application known as JAWS which assists those with a visual impairment, by providing audio assistance in every window. Working with them has made me realise how wrong the misconceptions about those with visual impairments are. Some people might have visual or hearing impairments, but every other sense is heightened for them. Still, people with disabilities are treated differently or as ‘inferior’ to others.
Getting back to Rohan sir, who has a visual impairment. He was denied the right to sit in a seat convenient for him on an Air India Flight, even though the staff was aware of his condition. He requested them to allow him to sit on the seat closest to the lavatory as he did not want to disturb his fellow passengers. Even though that seat was vacant, to his dismay, the Air India crew did not let him sit there.
Later on, they asked him to fill a ‘custom form’. Rohan sir says, “This is not the first time I am traveling, in the past, other airlines have helped me with the form, explaining and filling it for me.” But on Air India, he had to take help from his co-passenger to fill it. He was so let down by this incident that he decided to tweet about it.
Treating someone like Rohan sir with disrespect was very unprofessional on their part. I hope no one else faces these issues while traveling by Air India.
Later, at home, I researched the different adversities faced by people with disabilities and turns out there are many hardships faced by them. Let’s talk about something as simple as not having access to every building. People who use wheelchairs are not able to enter every place due to the lack of ramps or elevators. Someone with visual impairment may not be able to access every website if there is no ‘web accessibility’. It is here where people are denied basic access to something so regular for most people. Also, public places are not friendly for persons with a disability. Even sports centers are not disability-friendly.
I would like to raise my voice and help citizens of this country realise how people with disabilities are discriminated against on a daily basis. I want to create awareness on how to be more sensitive in their interactions. Many have expressed their views on how everyone stares at them when they are out in public, thus making them feel uncomfortable and nervous. I would like to educate people and make them understand that people with disabilities have the right to be treated equally.
Air India had not yet responded by the time of publication.